SHANKSVILLE, Pa. – Former first lady Laura Bush will speak at a National Park Foundation fundraiser in Pittsburgh on Friday, a day before joining Michelle Obama in rural Pennsylvania to remember the victims of Flight 93, which crashed there in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Bush's appearance is part of a wider effort to raise money for the memorial to the 40 passengers and crew who died after they fought back against their hijackers.

Just $40 million of the $58 million needed for the memorial has been raised, and the first phase of the project is scheduled to be dedicated in time for the 10th anniversary of the attacks next year.

A memorial plaza is under construction in these rolling hills, part of a long-awaited 2,200-acre national park that will eventually honor the victims. The finished memorial will include a 93-foot tower at the entrance with wind chimes for each of the victims and a grove of trees.

The project's planners say they hope Bush's and Obama's efforts help bring attention and much-needed cash to the project.

"In a world where there's so much politics, one thing we have always found is that our story and our efforts resonate across the board. And this is just one more indication of that," said Gordon Felt, the president of the Families of Flight 93, whose brother died aboard the flight.

Patrick White, whose cousin, Louis "Joey" Nacke II, died in the crash, called donating to the memorial "a patriotic thing to do."

"This is America's memorial, certainly primarily to the 40 heroes of Flight 93, but indirectly to the events of the day as well," he said.

More than 1.2 million people have visited the temporary memorial since the crash. Planners predict that about 250,000 people will visit the permanent memorial each year.

Flight 93 was en route from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco when hijackers seized control and diverted it toward Washington, D.C. But the passengers fought back and the hijackers responded by crashing the plane about 60 miles southwest of Pittsburgh.

It's imperative to honor the victims, said David Beamer, whose son Todd was believed to have led the revolt with the words "Let's roll." He said some textbooks only casually reference Flight 93 as the fourth plane to crash on Sept. 11, with no details.

In the battle against drug-resistant bacterial infections, researchers have identified two possible, if unlikely, allies: cockroaches and locusts.

Cockroaches, widely considered a public health menace, were documented carrying almost two dozen pathogens that can infect humans by researchers in 1991. Locusts, meanwhile, are associated with a different sort of plague, as their crop-devouring swarms earned them a place in the Bible.

But hidden in the brains and neural tissues of these insects, British researchers have found at least nine molecules that are toxic to bacteria. In fact, the molecules were able to kill more than 90 percent of the meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria in the lab.

Infections by both bacteria can have deadly consequences. MRSA causes serious staph infections that resist treatment and can lead to serious complications, organ failure and even death. Meanwhile, E.coli lives in our intestines, and is mostly harmless, but certain strains can cause an infection linked to kidney failure and even death, according to the National Institutes of Health. Antibiotic resistance has also been documented among certain types of E. coli.

The bacteria-busting compounds in the pests' brains could lead to a new way to fight off these ultra-resistant pathogens.

"We hope that these molecules could eventually be developed into treatments for E. coli and MRSA infections that are increasingly resistant to current drugs," said study team member Simon Lee, a postgraduate researcher at the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the University of Nottingham in England.

Because the molecules did not appear to harm human cells in tests run by the researchers, they could potentially lead to new antibiotics without the unwanted side effects of drugs currently in use, Lee said.

Insects often live in unsanitary conditions, so it is not surprising that they produce their own antimicrobial compounds, Lee said.

Lee presented his work at the Society for General Microbiology's fall meeting in Nottingham this week.

HAVANA Fidel Castro told a visiting American journalist that Cuba's communist economic model doesn't work, a rare comment on domestic affairs from a man who has conspicuously steered clear of local issues since stepping down four years ago.

The fact that things are not working efficiently on this cash-strapped Caribbean island is hardly news. Fidel's brother Raul, the country's president, has said the same thing repeatedly.

But the blunt assessment by the father of Cuba's 1959 revolution is sure to raise eyebrows.

Jeffrey Goldberg, a national correspondent for the Atlantic magazine, asked if Cuba's economic system was still worth exporting to other countries, and Mr. Castro replied: "The Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore," Mr. Goldberg wrote Wednesday in a post on his Atlantic blog.

He said Mr. Castro made the comment casually over lunch after a long talk about the Middle East, and did not elaborate. The Cuban government had no immediate comment on Mr. Goldberg's account.

Since stepping down from power in 2006, the ex-president has focused almost entirely on international affairs and said very little about Cuba and its politics, perhaps to limit the perception he is stepping on his brother's toes.

Mr. Goldberg, who traveled to Cuba at Mr. Castro's invitation last week to discuss a recent Atlantic article he wrote about Iran's nuclear program, also reported on Tuesday that Mr. Castro questioned his own actions during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, including his recommendation to Soviet leaders that they use nuclear weapons against the United States.

Even after the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba has clung to its communist system.

The state controls well over 90 percent of the economy, paying workers salaries of about $20 a month in return for free health care and education, and nearly free transportation and housing. At least a portion of every citizen's food needs are sold to them through ration books at heavily subsidized prices.

President Raul Castro and others have instituted a series of limited economic reforms, and have warned Cubans that they need to start working harder and expecting less from the government.

But the president also has made it clear he has no desire to depart from Cuba's socialist system or embrace capitalism.

Fidel Castro stepped down temporarily in July 2006 due to a serious illness that nearly killed him.

He resigned permanently two years later, but remains head of the Communist Party. After staying almost entirely out of the spotlight for four years, he re-emerged in July and now speaks frequently about international affairs. He has been warning for weeks of the threat of a nuclear war over Iran.

Mr. Castro's interview with Mr. Goldberg is the only one he has given to an American journalist since he left office.

Most of America has been looking upon this coming anniversary of 911 as another day of healing. The wounds are deep and fresh still with emotions running high. Now we have the Rev. Terry Jones, who just pops out of the woodwork and is ready to burn a sacred book belonging to the Muslim faith. This is a man of God? This "piece of work" has kept emotions raging in the people of all faiths and even in the hearts of those with no faith.Does the Rev. Jones believe in his own mind that American's are stupid? Or that Muslims are? He's been warned and he has been begged to abandon his actions for Saturday's burning of the Koran. First yes, he will. Now he shrugs his shoulders and says he doens't know. What?Is he crazy or is he just mean? Does he understand that there IS NO deal between him and the Iman Musri? Imam Musri certainly seems to understand there is no deal. Personally, I believe Musri's visit was to extend an olive branch (so to speak) because no one of the Muslim faith had. A noble move, I think. And a brave one. Two days ago a Muslim woman walked upon the church property and was removed.Time will tell. I just hope (regardless of what the fool Rev. Jones with the Koran), he realizes that with all of his disrepectful antics has painted a bulls eye on the backs of every soldier all across the world.Conscience, Rev. Jones? And how much have your antics cost the taxpayers of your town and state? Will you be accepting the blame if innocent lives are lost due to your evilness?

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – An anti-Islamic preacher backed off and then threatened to reconsider burning the Quran on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, angrily accusing a Muslim leader of lying to him Thursday with a promise to move an Islamic center and mosque away from New York's ground zero. The imam planning the center denied there was ever such a deal.

The Rev. Terry Jones generated an international firestorm with his plan to burn the Quran on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and he has been under intense pressure to give it up. President Barack Obama urged him to listen to "those better angels" and give up his "stunt," saying it would endanger U.S. troops and give Islamic terrorists a recruiting tool. Defense Secretary Robert Gates took the extraordinary step of calling Jones personally.

Standing outside his 50-member Pentecostal church, the Dove Outreach Center, alongside Imam Muhammad Musri, the president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, Jones said he relented when Musri assured him that the New York mosque will be moved.

Musri, however, said after the news conference that the agreement was only for him and Jones to travel to New York and meet Saturday with the imam overseeing plans to build a mosque near ground zero.

Hours later, Jones said Musri "clearly, clearly lied to us."

"Given what we are now hearing, we are forced to rethink our decision," Jones said. "So as of right now, we are not canceling the event, but we are suspending it."

Jones did not say whether the Quran burning could still be held Saturday, but he said he expected Musri to keep his word and expected "the imam in New York to back up one of his own men."

Jones had never invoked the mosque controversy as a reason for his planned protest. He cited his belief that the Quran is evil because it espouses something other than biblical truth and incites radical, violent behavior among Muslims.

But he said Thursday afternoon that he prayed about the decision and concluded that if the mosque was moved, it would be a sign from God to call off the Quran burning.

"We are, of course, now against any other group burning Qurans," Jones said. "We would right now ask no one to burn Qurans. We are absolutely strong on that. It is not the time to do it."

Musri thanked Jones and his church members "for making the decision today to defuse the situation and bring to a positive end what has become the world over a spectacle that no one would benefit from except extremists and terrorists" who would use it to recruit future radicals.

After Jones accused him of lying, Musri said the pastor "stretched my words" at the press conference.

"I think there was no confusion to begin with. When we stepped out of the church, we had an agreement to meet in New York," Musri said. He added that Jones "said his main reason for stopping the event was that it would endanger the troops overseas, Americans traveling abroad and others around the world."

Musri said he told the pastor "that I personally believe the mosque should not be there, and I will do everything in my power to make sure it is moved," Musri said. "But there is not any offer from there (New York) that it will be moved. All we have agreed to is a meeting, and I think we would all like to see a peaceful resolution."

Musri said Thursday night that he still plans to go ahead with the meeting Saturday.

In New York, the leader of the Islamic center project, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, issued a statement saying he was glad Jones had decided not to burn the Quran but that he had spoken to neither the pastor nor Musri.

"We are not going to toy with our religion or any other. Nor are we going to barter," Rauf said. "We are here to extend our hands to build peace and harmony."

Jones' decision to call off the Quran burning was made after a firestorm of criticism from leaders around the world. The pope and several other Christian leaders were among those urging him to reconsider his plans, which generated a wave of anger among Muslims. In Afghanistan, hundreds of Afghans burned an American flag and chanted "Death to the Christians" to protest the planned Quran burning.

"And as a very practical matter, I just want him to understand that this stunt that he is talking about pulling could greatly endanger our young men and women who are in uniform," Obama said.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell confirmed that Gates called Jones about 4 p.m. EST Thursday — shortly before the pastor's announcement. During the "very brief" call, Gates expressed "his grave concern that going forward with this Quran burning would put the lives of our forces at risk, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan," Morrell said.

Morrell said earlier that the decision to issue a personal appeal was not easy because it could provoke other extremists "who, all they want, is a call from so-and-so." After Gates' call to Jones, Morrell said the secretary's "fundamental baseline attitude about this is that if that phone call could save the life of one man or woman in uniform it was a call worth placing."

Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S., thanked Obama, Gates and other administration officials for their efforts. "This is definitely a positive moment in showing America's tolerance and pluralism and should not go unappreciated in the Muslim world," Haqqani said.

The cancellation also was welcomed by Jones' neighbors in Gainesville, a city of 125,000 anchored by the sprawling University of Florida campus. At least two dozen Christian churches, Jewish temples and Muslim organizations in the city had mobilized to plan inclusive events, including Quran readings at services, as a counterpoint to Jones' protest.

Jones' Dove Outreach Center is independent of any denomination. It follows the Pentecostal tradition, which teaches that the Holy Spirit can manifest itself in the modern day. Pentecostals often view themselves as engaged in spiritual warfare against satanic forces.

The pastor was not the only person to inject confusion into the debate over the New York mosque, which is planned to go up two blocks north of the trade center site. Donald Trump, who made a fortune in real estate, offered Thursday to buy out a major investor in the real estate partnership that controls the site where the 13-story Islamic center would be built.

Opponents argue it is insensitive to families and memories of Sept. 11 victims to build a mosque so close to where Islamic extremists flew planes into the World Trade Center and killed nearly 2,800 people. Proponents support the project as a reflection of religious freedom and diversity and say hatred of Muslims is fueling the opposition.

In a letter released Thursday by Trump's publicist, Trump told Hisham Elzanaty that he would buy his stake in one of the two lower Manhattan buildings involved in the project for 25 percent more than whatever he paid — if the mosque is moved at least five blocks farther away from the trade center site.

"I am making this offer as a resident of New York and citizen of the United States, not because I think the location is a spectacular one (because it is not), but because it will end a very serious, inflammatory, and highly divisive situation that is destined, in my opinion, to only get worse," the letter said.

Elzanaty's response: No sale.

"This is just a cheap attempt to get publicity and get in the limelight," said his lawyer, Wolodymyr Starosolsky.

He added that the offer's lack of seriousness is evident in the price.

The group collectively paid $4.8 million for the building Trump offered to buy. The other is being leased.

Starosolsky said the real estate partnership had already received two offers in the ballpark of $20 million.

"He knows what the value of the building is. If he were really interested in buying the building, he would have come forward with at least $20 million," Starosolsky said.

Starosolsky added that Elzanaty remains committed to the idea of having a mosque built on at least part of the property.

It's unclear how much control Elzanaty has over the property, which is owned by an eight-member investment group led by El-Gamal's real estate company, Soho Properties.

El-Gamal said Soho Properties controls the site, but didn't elaborate. His spokesman said he couldn't answer questions about the investment team or ownership issues.

In a pair of interviews with the AP this week, Elzanaty said he had invested in the site with an intention of making a profit and was willing to half the land for private development, and maybe all of it if a Muslim group doesn't come forward with enough money to build the mosque.

It was a lazy August night in Essex, and 21-year-old Joshua Brydge decided to have fun with his brother's laser pointer. Standing on his back porch, he aimed the piercing green beam at a police helicopter circling overhead.

Inside the cockpit of Baltimore County's Air 1, hovering over the houses on Maryln Avenue, pilot Hobart Wolf was temporarily "flash-blinded" by the light and was diverted from helping fellow county officers chasing a suspect.

Police say helicopters and other aircraft are increasingly being targeted by laser pointers commonly used in lecture halls. It has been a problem for years across the country, and Maryland authorities say it is now growing throughout the state, particularly in Ocean City, where pointers are sold as cheap souvenirs on the Boardwalk.Red lasers were once ubiquitous, but the newer green-beam variety is far more powerful and is particularly disruptive because its light deflects off aircraft windshields and helmet guards, and can "envelope the cockpits" with blinding light, police said.

Authorities from several Maryland police agencies called attention to the problem on Wednesday, asking people to put down their lasers, some of which can project beams more than two miles.

"It's not a game," said Maryland State Police Lt. Walter A. Kerr, who has spent 21 years with the aviation unit and flown to more than 4,000 trauma scenes. "It's potentially lethal. Our flight crews are defenseless." Police choppers are vulnerable because they fly low — 500 to 1,500 feet above the ground — and tend to circle. Baltimore City Police Flight Officer Arnie Russo said Foxtrot crews in the city get hit with laser beams two to three times a week.

"It was a very intense light," he said. The last time he was targeted, "it diverted my attention and blurred my vision, and later I had a massive headache. … Try driving on the highway at 75 mph on a holiday weekend and lose your vision for 30 seconds. That's what it feels like. And we can't pull over."

Maryland prohibits the use of laser pointers "to illuminate another [person] in a public place in a manner that harasses or endangers." The misdemeanor carries a maximum penalty of a $500 fine. But authorities more typically charge under the reckless endangerment statute because they're unsure whether the laser law can be applied to aircraft.

Arrests are rare, but two occurred just last month.

When Brydge flashed his light into the sky shortly before midnight on Aug. 25 night, Wolf was able to circle back to where the laser beam had originated and light up the porch with a spotlight. Officers in patrol cars sped to the house, burst inside and put Brydge in handcuffs.

He was charged with reckless endangerment and assault, and his case is pending. In a telephone interview, the young man admitted he was shining his light in the air but denied he was purposely trying to distract the police helicopter pilot. "I was being dumb," Brydge said. "I didn't think it was going to reach. Obviously it did and the cops came. … I think it was a little blown out of proportion, but I know I shouldn't have done it. … As soon as that helicopter swung back around toward me, I knew I had done something wrong."

Two days earlier, also in Essex, county police arrested another man and charged him with pointing a laser at the same two helicopter officers. They were able to turn their spotlight and see the suspect in an alley, and officers on the ground arrested Matthew R. Danner, 23, of Arncliffe Road, and charged him with reckless endangerment. His case too is pending.

In Maryland, the laser pointers are popular in Ocean City, where boardwalk shops sell them for as little as $10.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which regulates the industry, says that even the least powerful laser pointers "can be dangerous" and can "cause temporary visual effects such as flash blinding."

Laser pointers typically used in lecture halls generate about 5 milliwatts of power. The FDA says that anything more powerful "cannot legally be promoted as laser pointers" and must carry sufficient warnings.

Powerful laser pointers do have legitimate uses. Construction workers use them for leveling, some police officers have them on guns to help them aim and astronomers use them to point out planets and star systems in the sky. They like the more powerful green because, unlike other colors, green maintains a visible beam through the sky.

The manager of a police and military laser pointer supply store, Oregon-based Z-Bolt, said kids frequently call and e-mail his company "looking for lasers that can slice cheese and do other things." John Mueller said overseas web sites proliferate the Internet "bragging that their lasers can pop balloons or light matches."

"To me, it's no different than selling illegal firearms," Mueller said, adding that the high-powered laser pointers are used in university labs and in war zones by troops to send warning signals to drivers to avoid military checkpoints or to enforce curfews.

There are dozens of examples of pilots blinded by lasers from Maryland and around the country. Five years ago, Anne Arundel County police charged a man with blinding one of its pilots on New Year's Eve in Pasadena. At the time, federal authorities investigated but decided that the incident was not related to terrorism.

Maryland State Police say one of their MedEvac helicopters was hit by a laser in July while trying to land in Ocean City to pick up a trauma patient and again in August flying over Berlin on the Eastern Shore. Most recently state police said a pilot was hit four times by a green laser beam on Sept. 2 west of Mount Airy.

Incidents are reported to the Federal Aviation Administration, and Congress is considering new laws to make shining laser beams at aircraft a federal offense. Federal authorities can use the Patriot Act, which makes it a crime to interfere with the country's transportation systems.

One man charged under the Patriot Act in New Jersey for shining a laser at a commuter aircraft in 2004 had his charges reduced to lying to a federal agent. And a man charged with disorienting a pilot of a LifeFlight helicopter in Cleveland was sentenced to three years in prison.www.baltimoresun.com

The Eastern Shore of Virginia Ground Water Committee, Accomack and Northampton Counties, the Towns of Cheriton, Hallwood, and Parksley, and the National Ground Water Association encourage residents to do their part in conserving and protecting our ground water supply on the Eastern Shore by participating in Protect Your Ground Water Day on Tuesday, September 14.

The Eastern Shore's water supply has been designated by the Environmental Protection Agency as a Sole Source Aquifer, meaning that our aquifers are only replenished by rainfall that is absorbed in a recharge zone that occurs along the central portion of the Shore. Our water supply is a very limited resource that is threatened by contamination from pollution and saltwater intrusion.

Eastern Shore residents can use September 14 to begin doing their part in protecting one of our most important resources ground water. Residents are encouraged to A.C.T. - Acknowledge, Consider, and Take action by acknowledging the causes of preventable contamination, considering which apply to your ground water use, and taking action to prevent contamination. For more information on the Eastern Shore's ground water supply and Protect Your Ground Water Day, contact Curt Smith with the Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission at 787-2936.www.shoredailynews.com

Thursday, September 9, 2010

A lesson that should be taught in all schools . . And colleges Back in September, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at RobinsonHigh School, did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.

When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.

'Ms. Cothren, where're our desks?'

She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.'

They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.'

'No,' she said.

'Maybe it's our behavior.'

She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.'

And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom.

By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms.Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.

The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.'

At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it.

Twenty-seven (27) War Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall... By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned..

Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the
>freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it.' By the way, this is a true story:http://www.snopes.com/glurge/nodesks.asp

In God We Trust When your cup of hope is empty it's time to pick up your cup of faith

Imagine that you had won the following prize in a contest: Each morning
your bank would deposit
$86,400 in your private bank account for your own use. However, this prize
has rules, just as any game has certain rules.

The first set of rules would be:

1) Everything that you didn't spend during each day would be taken
away from you.

2) You cannot simply transfer money into some other
account. You can only spend it.

3) Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens
your account with another $86,400.00 for that day.

The second set of rules:

1) The bank can end the game without warning; at any time it can
say, "It's over, the game is over!"

2) It can close the account in an instant and
you will not receive a new one.

What would you personally do? You would buy anything and everything you
wanted, right?

Not only for yourself, but for
all the people in your life, right? Maybe even for people you don't know,
because you couldn't possibly spend it all on yourself and the people in
your
life, right? You would try to spend every single cent, and use it all up
every day, right?

Actually, this game is a reality, but not with money!
Each of us is in possession of such a bank account, We just don't seem to
see it. The BANK Account is ........ TIME! Each morning we awaken and
receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life, and when the day is done, any remaining
time is gone and NOT credited to us. What we haven't lived up to that day is
lost forever. Yesterday is forever gone. Each morning the account is
refilled, but the life bank can dissolve our account at any time....WITHOUT
WARNING.

SO, what will YOU do with your 86,400 seconds?

Think about that, and always think of this: Enjoy every second of your
life, because time races by
so much quicker than we think. Take good care of yourself, and enjoy life.
Live each day to the fullest, be kind to one another, and be forgiving.
Harbor a positive attitude and always be the first to smile.

Gov. Robert F. McDonnell yesterday unveiled his plan to privatize Virginia's state-run liquor empire. It's a big business. Residents drank a healthy $322 million worth of distilled spirits last year, pouring $115 million in net profit into Richmond's coffers. Wresting this bottle from state lawmakers would represent a significant victory for Mr. McDonnell, but it comes at a cost to consumers.

Each of the commonwealth's 332 government-operated stores is highly lucrative, averaging $335,000 in annual profit. That's not surprising, considering the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) has armed agents ready to put potential competitors behind bars. If the state ran grocery stores and fast food under the same monopoly conditions, these also would bring in tidy sums. Government has no legitimate reason for involvement in any of these private enterprises.

To fix this problem, Mr. McDonnell would sell the ABC stores and distribution warehouses, auctioning off 1,000 licenses to the private vendors, convenience stores and supermarkets willing to take over the business. Given the demonstrated profit margins, it won't be hard to find buyers.

The difficulty comes in considering what to do about the $226 million in alcohol taxes these stores collect. There's a markup of 69 percent to 79 percent on each bottle, which is then taxed 20 percent at the wholesale level and once more at 5 percent at the retail level. According to Tax Foundation data, that averages out to $20.13 per gallon of spirits - the third highest levy in the nation. By comparison, the same tax in the District and Maryland is a mere $1.50. Not surprisingly, many of the District's liquor stores report that Virginians account for half of their sales. Rather than go cold turkey, Mr. McDonnell proposes to rearrange the way taxes are collected so that the cash flow remains roughly the same after privatization, contrary to some early news reports.

"There is no tax increase, period," said Stacey Johnson, a spokesman for the governor, to The Washington Times. "Under this proposed privatization plan, it will keep the ongoing revenue to the state equivalent to what it is in the current monopoly setup."

It's unfortunate that the General Assembly's big spenders will stay sloshed with alcohol taxes that ought to be reduced or eliminated, not maintained at their current sky-high levels. Worse, the sale of ABC stores, warehouses and licenses would generate about $468 million in upfront cash that would be deposited in the Virginia Transportation Infrastructure Bank. Like the federal infrastructure bank proposed this week by President Obama, this newly formed state government entity would subsidize public-private transportation partnerships, such as the controversial scheme to turn Interstate 95/395 into a toll road. In theory, such projects allow private companies to relieve Richmond of the significant burden of maintaining an expensive highway. It sounds great until you realize the burden shifts to a public hit with tolls plus the cost of all the subsidies that would be doled out to the well-connected firms landing such contracts.

It would be a far more palatable plan if Mr. McDonnell were to proceed with the sale of the stores without the tolling boondoggle. Earlier this year, the Virginia chapter of Americans for Prosperity released a 140-page plan for the Old Dominion that outlined how the legislature could save billions by not spending like a drunken sailor (no offense to drunken sailors). By dumping wasteful programs like the $5 billion Dulles Metro extension, there would be no need for tolls or booze taxes.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top two national security advisers in President Obama's Cabinet on Wednesday denounced plans by a small church in Florida to burn the Muslim holy book to commemorate the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, saying it would inflame tensions and put Americans abroad at risk.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the plan was ill-advised and echoed concerns first raised by the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, who warned that the proposed weekend event would place the lives of American troops in jeopardy there and elsewhere. U.S. officials in Iraq agreed.

In remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, Mrs. Clinton called the plans "outrageous" and "aberrational" and said they do not represent America or American values of religious tolerance and inclusiveness.

She also lamented that the tiny Dove World Outreach Center congregation in Gainesville had gotten so much attention for what she called a "distrustful and disgraceful" means of marking the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"It is regrettable that a pastor in Gainesville, Florida, with a church of no more than 50 people can make this outrageous and distrustful, disgraceful plan and get the world's attention, but that's the world we live in right now," Mrs. Clinton said. "It is unfortunate; it is not who we are," she said.

Through a Pentagon spokesman, Col. David Lapan, Mr. Gates added his voice to the growing controversy.

"No one is questioning the right to do these things. We are questioning whether that's advisable considering the consequences that could occur," Mr. Lapan said. "General Petraeus has been very vocal and very public on this, and his position reflects the secretary's as well."

Gen. Petraeus on Tuesday said that "images of the burning of a Quran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan — and around the world — to inflame public opinion and incite violence." In addition, Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the former top commander in Iraq, said Wednesday he feared extremists will use the incident to sow hatred against U.S. troops overseas.

In Iraq, where almost 50,000 American troops are still serving, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey and the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Gen. Lloyd Austin, joined in the condemnation, calling the plan "disrespectful, divisive and disgraceful."

"As this holy month of Ramadan comes to a close and Iraqis prepare to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, we join with the citizens of Iraq and of every nation to repudiate religious intolerance and to respect and defend the diversity of faiths of our fellow man," they said in a joint statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Despite the widespread condemnation, the Rev. Terry Jones, the church's pastor, has vowed to go ahead with the event.

Mrs. Clinton appealed for Mr. Jones to reconsider and cancel. And, in the event he goes ahead with the plan, she suggested to laughter from the audience, that the news media ignore it.

"We are hoping that the pastor decides not to do this," she said. "We're hoping against hope that if he does, it won't be covered as an act of patriotism."

"We want to be judged by who we are as a nation, not by something that is so aberrational, and we will make that case as strongly as possible."

NEW YORK – The imam behind a proposed Islamic community center and mosque near ground zero cautioned Wednesday that moving the facility could cause a violent backlash from Muslim extremists and endanger national security.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf told CNN that the discourse surrounding the center has become so politicized that moving it could strengthen the ability of extremists abroad to recruit and wage attacks against Americans, including troops fighting in the Middle East.

"The headlines in the Muslim world will be that Islam is under attack," he said, but he added that he was open to the idea of moving the planned location of the center, currently two blocks north of the World Trade Center site.

"But if you don't do this right, anger will explode in the Muslim world," he later said, predicting that the reaction could be more furious than the eruption of violence following the 2005 publication of Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

Opponents say the center, which would include a Sept. 11 memorial and a Muslim prayer space, should be moved farther away from where Islamic extremists destroyed the World Trade Center and killed nearly 2,800 people. Supporters say religious freedom should be protected.

Rauf, 61, has largely been absent since the debate over the center erupted earlier this year. He has been traveling abroad, including taking a State Department-funded 15-day trip to the Middle East to promote religious tolerance.

In the interview with CNN's Soledad O'Brien, his first since returning to the U.S. on Sunday, Rauf responded to a number of questions that have been raised about the project.

He said money to develop the center would be raised domestically for the most part.

"And we'll be very transparent on how we raise money," he said, adding that no funds would be accepted from sources linked to extremists.

Rauf said that, in retrospect, he might have chosen a different location for what he described as a multifaith community center.

"If I knew this would happen, if it would cause this kind of pain, I wouldn't have done it," he said.

The Virginia Department of Corrections says the only woman on the state's death row has declined to choose the method of her scheduled Sept. 23 execution.

That means lethal injection will be the procedure when 40-year-old Teresa Lewis of Pittsylvania County is put to death for plotting to have her husband and stepson killed in 2002 so she could collect a $250,000 life insurance policy.

State law allows a condemned inmate to select either electrocution or lethal injection. The latter procedure is used if the inmate declines to choose.

Lewis would be the first woman executed in Virginia in nearly 100 years and the first in the U.S. since 2005.

Lewis offered herself and her 16-year-old daughter for sex to two men who committed the killings. She provided money to buy the murder weapons and stood by while they shot her husband, Julian Clifton Lewis Jr., 51, and stepson Charles J. Lewis, 25.

Lewis rummaged through her husband's pockets for money while he lay dying and waited nearly an hour before calling 911.

The gunmen, Rodney Fuller and Matthew Shallenberger, were sentenced to life in prison. Shallenberger committed suicide in prison in 2006.

A 9 year old child was struck by an Accomack County Sheriff's Deputy on Monday August 30, 2010 according to Virginia State Police.

Virginia State Police Sergeant Michelle Anaya says Deputy Earl Drummond was driving his 2008 Ford Police Interceptor on Shields Bridge Road in Belle Haven at 6:00 PM when he struck Quaizal Kellam, 9, while he was riding his bicycle.

Sergeant Anaya said no charges were filed against Deputy Drummond because Kellam was riding his bicycle on the wrong side of the road. Kellam was transported to the hospital after the accident; Anaya said she was not aware of the victims condition.www.shoredailynews.com

RICHMOND, Va. — A federal document that immigrants use to prove they are legal U.S. residents is not longer good enough to get a Virginia driver's license.

Gov. Bob McDonnell ordered the Department of Motor Vehicles to no longer consider Employment Authorization Documents evidence that a person is in the country legally. About 20 other federal documents will still be accepted.

The governor acted after a 23-year-old Bolivian national with drunken driving convictions in 2007 and 2008 was involved in a crash that killed a nun and injured two others in her order in Prince William County. Police say Carlos Martinelly Montano was drunk at the time.

Montano had used the form to get a Virginia license even though he faced deportation proceedings, authorities say.

WTOP radio in Washington, D.C., reported Tuesday that a grand jury indicted Montano on a murder charge that could land him in prison for 40 years if he's convicted.

Prince William police chief Charlie Deane last week asked federal authorities to stop issuing employment authorization cards, known as I-766 documents, to immigrants who face deportation. The cards are issued by the Citizenship and Immigration Service arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

An advocate for immigrants said the governor's response was political pandering that ignores what she said was the problem of scant punishment for repeat drunken drivers.

"The governor should be asking why he (Montano) was released from jail after serving just 20 days instead of the full 364," Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, a Richmond-based lobbyist on behalf of immigrants' rights. Montano had been sentenced to a serve a year on his second DUI conviction.

Montano got his I-766 card, in January 2009 as federal deportation actions were pending. He presented the card to the DMV to establish legal presence in the U.S. But he did not have a Virginia license on Aug. 1 when his car slammed head-on into a car carrying three Benedictine nuns on their way to a retreat.

"We must ensure that documents accepted as proof of legal presence are reliable," McDonnell, a Republican and a Roman Catholic, said in a news release. "Virginia law is clear in the requirement that an individual be lawfully in the United States to be eligible for an identification card or to have the privilege to drive."

Gastanaga said the federally issued cards are not given to illegal immigrants, and that they are merely records information about the bearer's physical appearance such as height, weight, hair and eye color information.

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in August advised police across Virginia that they have the authority to ask about the immigration status of anyone they've stopped or arrested. His advisory opinion, which lacks the legal force of a court ruling, would give Virginia officers many of the same powers police in Arizona have under a new law there intended to crack down on illegal immigration.

OCEAN CITY -- A 34-year-old Pennsylvania man died after being found unconscious outside an Ocean City nightclub, police said.

Ocean City Police said Christopher Paul Cherenyack of Sugarloaf, Pa., was found about 3 a.m. Tuesday lying between two buildings at The Party Block at 17th Street and Coastal Highway. He was unconscious and not breathing. Police said two people were there performing CPR on the victim.

Cherenyack was taken to Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin, where he was pronounced dead, according to Ocean City Police spokesman Pfc. Mike Levy.

There was no immediate indication of a cause of death. Police are waiting on results of an autopsy to be performed at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland in Baltimore.

Party Block co-owner Rob Rosenblit said the victim had been found by an employee, who called over a manager. The manager tried to wake Cherenyack, thinking he was asleep, but was unable to revive him. The manager also could not find a pulse, and then called 911. Another staff member trained in CPR tried to resuscitate the victim until paramedics arrived.

Rosenblit said Cherenyack had been in the bar earlier in the evening. At one point Cherenyack lost a shoe, and staffers helped him find it. Rosenblit said he was friendly, polite and non-confrontational. The victim also turned down the offer of a taxi ride home, he added.

"Our thoughts and prayers go to his family," Rosenblit said. "It was a very startling thing at the end of the night."

A female family member reached by phone at Cherenyack's residence declined to comment.

Levy said the incident is being treated as an unattended death, with no criminal implications at this time. Unattended deaths of people of all ages happen several times each year in Ocean City, usually in homes and sometimes hotel rooms, he said.

The Party Block consists of three nightclubs and a pool bar, and is a popular nighttime hotspot during the summer season.

MIDDLE RIVER, Md. -- State police aviation crews, as well as commercial pilots, will join forces today to discuss the dangers of laser pointers that target aircraft in flight.

When pointed at an aircraft in flight, the laser pointers can cause a flash of light in the cockpit that blinds the flight crew.

Recently, a Maryland State Police helicopter crew was targeted with a laser pointer while trying to land in Ocean City to pick up a trauma patient, state police said in a news release. Baltimore County Police recently charged an individual with reckless endangerment for ‘lasering’ their helicopter while in flight.

At an event at 10 a.m. today at the State Police Aviation Command in Middle River, Md., helicopter crews will discuss the danger created when flight crews are temporarily blinded by laser flashes. Helicopters from area law enforcement and a commercial provider will be on display. A demonstration will also be conducted using a helicopter simulator.

NEW YORK, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- The imam of the Farah mosque in New York said Tuesday "we are proceeding" with plans for Cordoba House near Ground Zero despite "the furor" surrounding it.

In an op-ed article published by The New York Times, Feisal Abdul Rauf, the chairman of the Cordoba Initiative, offered his first public comments on the controversy surrounding the project, also called Park51. He has been out of the United States for two months, speaking about religious tolerance and cooperation, and said in the newspaper article that he and "nearly everyone" he met had "been awed by how inflamed and emotional the issue of the proposed community center has become."

"The level of attention reflects the degree to which people care about the very American values under debate: recognition of the rights of others, tolerance and freedom of worship," Rauf wrote.

"We are proceeding with the community center, Cordoba House. More important, we are doing so with the support of the downtown community, government at all levels and leaders from across the religious spectrum, who will be our partners. I am convinced that it is the right thing to do for many reasons."

Rauf said the community center "will amplify the multifaith approach that the Cordoba Initiative has deployed in concrete ways for years.""Our initiative is intended to cultivate understanding among all religions and cultures," he said.

Rauf said the initative's "broader mission" is to "strengthen relations between the Western and Muslim worlds and to help counter radical ideology" and he said it was essential to confront polarizing issues rather than avoid them.

He said he is "very sensitive to the feelings" of survivors of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack that took almost 3,000 lives and destroyed the World Trade Center twin towers.

"We will accordingly seek the support of those families, and the support of our vibrant neighborhood, as we consider the ultimate plans for the community center," Rauf said. "Our objective has always been to make this a center for unification and healing."

BALTIMORE, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- A University of Baltimore professor said he is basing his English 333 curriculum around zombies.

Arnold Blumberg said his class will involve screening 16 zombie film classics, zombie comic books as required reading and the option for students to write a screenplay or draw storyboards for their ideal zombie movies as final projects, The Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday.

"Zombies are one of the most potent, direct reflections of what we're thinking moment to moment in our culture," Blumberg said.

Jonathan Shorr, chair of the university's school of communications design, said the class is part of a new minor in popular culture.

"It's a back door into a lot of subjects," Shorr says. "They think they're taking this wacko zombie course, and they are. But on the way, they learn how literature and mass media work, and how they come to reflect our times."

The 2011 Old Farmer's Almanac has predicted a cold and snowy winter for the Eastern Shore, according to its Winter Weather Map. The Almanac predicts snowfall will be above normal in the mid-Atlantic states from November through March.

According to its regional forecast, the coldest periods for our area along the Atlantic Corridor will be in December, January and mid-February. The Almanac predicts the most snowfall in January and February.

The Old Farmer's Almanac uses historical weather data to predict data for upcoming years.

A new school year begins today. Hundreds of students will descend upon the public schools in Accomack and Northampton County today as the school systems, continuing to face the burdens of state budget cuts, will work to keep quality education their main goal.

Accomack County School Superintendent Rick Bull said in a letter to parents dated Sept. 6 "Like many school divisions across the state of Virginia, Accomack County has been charged with reducing its budget while still maintaining high quality services for its students. Our long-range fiscal planning has ensured the resources needed to educate students in modern facilities with staff sizes aligned with the Virginia Standards of Accreditation. The support of the School Board and Board of Supervisors cannot be overstated. These positive working relationships have helped us achieve great things in our division."

Bull went on to say that despite difficult economic times, Accomack County Schools remain dedicated to providing each and every student in the division a quality education.

This years Accomack County Schools projected budget is 45,201,416 which is a little over $500,000 less than last years budget.

Northampton County School students and parents will be looking at a new policy regarding cell phones in schools. Elementary students are not permitted to have cell phones at school and high school students are only permitted to have cell phones out after the instructional day has ended. High school students must keep the cell phones in their vehicles or lockers until after school ends. Any cell phones confiscated during the day will be kept by the school administrators until the last day of school in June.

Northampton County also faced budget cuts for the 2010-2011 school year. Those figures werent available to us at the time this story was composed.

Broadwater Academy also welcomes students today. Shore Christian Academy began its year August 25.www.shoredailynews.com

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